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The builder's path

Five steps from a problem to its solution.

For: Households in Delhi can't easily tell what they must do, or by when, to keep their electricity subsidy now that Aadhaar is mandatory.

“The true creator is necessity, which is the mother of our invention.”
Plato · Republic II, 369c (tr. B. Jowett)

Routes to a solution

Six ways to take this forward

Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Delhi.

  1. Step 1

    Join an incubator or startup mission

    They connect you to schemes and officials.

    • DST NIDHI ↗

      Department of Science and Technology support from idea to startup, through technology business incubators.

    • NASSCOM ↗

      The tech industry body; startup programmes and a route to industry partners.

    • Villgro ↗

      Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.

    • Social Alpha ↗

      Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.

  2. Step 2

    Win a seed grant

    Prove the idea works with a small, funded prototype.

  3. Step 3

    Pilot with a public body

    A district, city or department tries it with real people.

What this problem needs

Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.

  • Forms and documents
  • Alerts
  • Accessibility

Ideas to explore

  • Idea 1Am I covered?Ask for the discom and account number, explain the Aadhaar requirement in Hindi and English, and link straight to the right submission page for that discom.
  • Idea 2Deadline watchTrack Power Department notifications and discom notices, and send an SMS to people who signed up the day a deadline or new procedure is announced.

Specific to this problem

  • BSES Delhi ↗

    Consumer services for BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna areas.

  • UIDAI ↗

    Aadhaar enrolment and how to get an Enrolment ID.

Talk to first

  • Power Department, Government of NCT of Delhi

    Issued the notification and directs discoms to publicise the new condition.

  • Tata Power Delhi Distribution

    One of the five agencies that administers the subsidy, for north and north-west Delhi.

Starter prompt

Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.

Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in New Delhi, Delhi, India.

Problem: Households in Delhi can't easily tell what they must do, or by when, to keep their electricity subsidy now that Aadhaar is mandatory.
Who it hurts: Domestic power consumers across Delhi's five distribution areas, especially tenants, older people and families whose bill is in someone else's name.
The moment it hurts: Hearing that the subsidy now needs Aadhaar, and not knowing whether an existing connection is already covered, where to submit the number, or what happens if they don't.
What people do today: The rule sits in a Power Department notification; consumers depend on their discom and word of mouth to learn about it, with no single place that confirms whether their own connection is linked.
Why it is still unsolved: The subsidy runs through five separate discoms, and the notification sets no deadline or separate procedure for people who already receive the benefit, so the steps differ by provider and stay unclear.
What solved looks like: A plain-language checker where a Delhi consumer picks their discom, enters their account number, and learns whether Aadhaar is linked for the subsidy, how to link it (or use an Aadhaar Enrolment ID), and where to get help, with reminders if a deadline is announced.
Where: New Delhi, Delhi, India

First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions.
Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use.
Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
  1. Understand it

    Talk to the people who live it before you build.

    “You cannot step twice into the same river.”
    Heraclitus · Fragment B91, via Plato's Cratylus
  2. Prototype with AI

    Get a working version in front of people fast.

    Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.

    “The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
    Ada Lovelace · Notes on Menabrea's Sketch of the Analytical Engine, Note A (1843)
  3. Find the data

    Open data that fits this problem.

    “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
    Richard Feynman · Cargo Cult Science, Caltech commencement address (1974)
  4. Build it

    Tools matched to what this problem needs.

    “Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth.”

    δός μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω

    Archimedes · as reported by Pappus of Alexandria
  5. Launch and get support

    Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.

    “While we teach, we learn.”

    Homines dum docent discunt.

    Seneca · Letters to Lucilius 7.8

Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.